Opinions on $450 Non-gaming build

[VirtualLarry]

Agree. The GPU hardware needed to do the compositing and simple effects that you see in typical desktop environments is trivial. You're talking about literally 100's of polys and extremely simple shaders.

Except, due to how Win7's clip regions affect compositing, if you have Windows open underneath the Windows you are using, they still affect the clip regions, and apps such as Skype, when they update the video Window, have to split up those updates per each clip region. What happens in practice, is that you get severe tearing, with part of the Window updating before the other part.

I found that an NV GT430 card in my Gateway slimline G630 rig, greatly reduced the affect of this window clip-region tearing during Skype calls, compared to the HD2000 IGP in the Sandy Bridge Pentium CPU.

So, in my particular case, inachu is correct. Sandy Bridge HD2000 IGP is NOT powerful enough for desktop purposes, particularly Skype.

 

[mfenn]

Except, due to how Win7's clip regions affect compositing, if you have Windows open underneath the Windows you are using, they still affect the clip regions, and apps such as Skype, when they update the video Window, have to split up those updates per each clip region. What happens in practice, is that you get severe tearing, with part of the Window updating before the other part.

I found that an NV GT430 card in my Gateway slimline G630 rig, greatly reduced the affect of this window clip-region tearing during Skype calls, compared to the HD2000 IGP in the Sandy Bridge Pentium CPU.

So, in my particular case, inachu is correct. Sandy Bridge HD2000 IGP is NOT powerful enough for desktop purposes, particularly Skype.

It sounds like you're dealing with a driver issue more than a GPU issue. You should try updating the Intel IGP drivers to the latest first. If that doesn't work, go into the graphics settings and enable vSync for Skype.

 

[thegenix]

Thanks to everyone on here for all the help, especially Ken.

Here's the build I wound up going with:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Directron)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.73 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.21 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.96 @ Directron)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($42.78 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: *Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($42.99 @ Directron)
Total: $438.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-25 12:13 EST-0500

 

[mfenn]

Thanks to everyone on here for all the help, especially Ken.

Here's the build I wound up going with:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Directron)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.73 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.21 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.96 @ Directron)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($42.78 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: *Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($42.99 @ Directron)
Total: $438.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-25 12:13 EST-0500

:thumbsup: Looks good. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Charlie98]

Just FYI, I used that ASRock mobo in a build I did for my inlaws last year, I had an issue getting the 24-pin power plug to fully seat in the mobo's socket. This was with a Corsair PSU, not your Antec, so you may not encounter a problem... but it shook me for a loop until I figured out why it wouldn't boot. Other than that, it's a pretty nice board!

Good luck!